Loki's Lullaby
by Ractira
Summary: Loki and Thor return to Earth for the first time since New York.
1. Chapter 1

Midgard, or Earth, as its inhabitants called it; the one place Loki did not wish to return to, and yet it was the one place he was forced to go. Of course he could not be forced into doing anything, well not without a great amount of 'persuasion,' but there was nothing left for him on Asgard and as a result of that, among many other things, he felt obliged to return.

Loki had purposefully arrived at the rainbow bridge and was out of sight when Thor, Odin, and the crowd arrived to send Thor off. No one cared about Loki, even before the New York incident. It just made him more alone. Alone. That was how Loki was; ever since he was a child. Never good enough for Odin, ridiculed by Thor's friends, not even a real Asgardian. The only people who had showed compassion towards him were Thor and Frigga. But those relationships were battered, partially because of him showing not desire to rekindle them.

Loki could hear the murmuring of the Asgardian people, wanting one last glimpse of their prince before he was gone for who knows how long. He could hear his mother weeping, and Odin's strong voice, "Thor, take care of yourself, and take care of…" His voice trailed off.

"Where is Loki?" Frigga asked tearfully.

"I suspect he has already started the journey," came Thor's reply, "and it is time I should as well."

Thor turned and left Asgard behind, it was not a permanent arrangement and he could not see why everyone thought that it would be. As he rounded a corner and came into Loki sight the two of them shared a glance and nodded. Thor had known that Loki would not have left without him, as well as that Loki had no desire to say goodbye to his family.

Loki did not want to face Odin; his anger still burned toward that man, as he suspected it would for several more centuries. As for his mother, Frigga, he had avoided her, and had not seen or spoken to her since his trial. He felt ashamed, embarrassed, even though the New York incident was not his fault. But it was, Loki thought, if he had only been stronger, stronger like Thor.

Thor tried to make pleasant conversation on the way to Midgard, and their eventual destination Stark Tower. It may not have seemed like it to Loki, but Thor was trying very hard to get his brother back. Loki, never one for chatter replied, but did nothing the further the conversation. Of all the places on this realm, they had to be returning to New York, and Stark Tower nonetheless. Loki was not dreading the arrival, but he was certainly not looking forward to it. Thor had needed to make a pit stop at Jane's upon arriving to Earth to pick up some Midgardian clothing. He did not have the ability to change his appearance as Loki did and they did not want everyone to recognize Thor as the hero who had saved the Earth from Loki's reign of madness.

Leaning against a wall outside of Jane's house, Loki could just pick up her and Thor's conversation from inside.

"Why can't you stay? Just for a while." Jane pleaded with Loki's brother.

"Now is not the time, love." Loki could hear the compassion in Thor's deep voice. "I have to get back to New York, and Loki is with me."

Loki tuned out the rest of their conversation. He did not need to hear Jane and Thor talk about him or New York; he had already heard way too much about the people's thoughts on that subject, on Asgard, as well as Midgard, or Earth, rather. He was going to be here for a while, indefinitely, for the time being, and may as well start trying to adopt the Midgardian's ways, and abandon the Asgardian ones, which had never truly been his own.

After what seemed like no time to Loki, who was lost in his thoughts, Thor and Jane walked out, looking a little more rumpled then before. Loki stepped away from the wall on which he had been leaning, and out of the shadows. An indication of how long he was been standing there, as the sun was high in the sky when they arrived.

Jane, upon seeing Lok,i jumped and grabbed on to Thor's arm.

"Hello, Jane." Loki spoke formally.

Jane then did something that surprised Loki, not that his face showed it. She timidly stuck out her hand, "hello Loki, nice to finally meet you." They clasped hands, and Jane was surprised at the coolness of the Asgardian's hand. Thor's hands are not like that, she thought.

"We had better be going." Thor interrupted, already starting to spin Mjolnir. Loki walked over to Thor.

"Goodbye"

And the two brothers were off, off to Stark Tower, off to greet the Avengers. The people whom a short time ago had wanted to kill Loki, and had not seen him or Thor since.

**((Thanks for reading. If you could write a review, that would be great.))**


	2. Chapter 2

Thor had flown them to an isolated part of the city and they were walking to Stark Tower from there. Loki could not believe the desolate state of this realm. It was not abandoned but it was as though all of its occupants no longer cared about the state of the city they lived in. There was pollution and garbage everywhere and people who looked as though they were living in it. It repulsed Loki. This realm had so many problems, whatever little help they could provide would not even put a dent in them.

"Maybe this place would have been better under someone else's rule," Loki thought to himself with a snicker. "Oh the irony."

"Are we just going to walk into Stark Tower? It is not as though there are expecting us, and I doubt that they will be willing to accept me." Loki stated slightly sarcastically. "No thanks to you," he muttered as an afterthought.

"Brother! You worry too much," Thor exclaimed. "They will welcome us. We come to help after all."

Loki sighed, shaking his head, neither of them knew much about the Midgardians however Loki suspected that they would not be so easily forgiving. He did notice that Thor had said "we" instead of "I." Why did Thor bring him here and assume he would help? It was not as though he wouldn't, he just doubted that The Avengers would want his help, or that they would need it.

"Wait" Thor abruptly stuck out his arm causing Loki to walk into it, almost knocking him over. "This is a telephone. Darcy taught me know to use one. I shall telephone the Tower of Stark and inform them we are coming."

Thor stepped inside the phone booth and picked up the phone. "Stark Tower!" He shouted into the receiver. Loki had never seen a device such as this before, but he was certain Thor did not need to shout to use it. He shut the door in an attempt to muffle Thor's yelling and not draw the attention of curious passerby's.

"Did you tell them I was coming?" Loki asked once Thor had exited the booth.

"No, I thought it could be a surprise, and they could meet you."

Loki pursed his lips. Either his brother had acted stupid or very clever. Often Loki could not tell with Thor. By not telling them he was coming, they would be unprepared for his arrival and would have to listen to Thor's argument as to how he had 'changed.' Loki did not know if Thor could convince them, but obviously Thor thought he could. If Thor had told them Loki was coming, he risked a full out attack at worst and Loki being banished from this realm at best which would be nothing new.

Loki could see Stark Tower from quite a distance away. After all it was not hard to miss the Skyscraper with the glowing letters that spelt out its name. Loki could see it had been remodeled and improved since the attack, and felt a wave of guilt. The people he hurt and the damage he caused to this petty planet was immense.

The doors to Stark Tower opened automatically before them. The two walked in to see Nick Fury, Agent Hill, and the Avengers in the lobby of the building, save for Bruce Banner and Tony Stark. Loki lingered back.

"Thor! Welcome back."

"You sure came at a good time."

Voices filled the air, and no one saw Loki, he was good at being unnoticed, however without using magic he knew one of the Avengers would soon spot him. It was Agent Barton. Loki supposed if someone had reason to hate him the most, it would be him.

"You brought Loki!" Clint exclaimed, with an arrow pointed at Loki's head. "Why would you bring this monster back to Earth!"

Thor stepped in front of Loki blocking Clint's shot, as if Loki needed protection from Thor. Even if Clint were to fire the arrow, Loki could easily deflect, even without the evil sceptre, he was not powerless.

"That is my brother, and he wishes you and your people no harm." Thor explained. "He has already faced Asgardian justice, and we come here to help."

"It's been, what a couple months since he attacked us, and if I'm not mistaken that is a lot shorter to you immortal gods then it is to us. Some judicial system you have." Fury stated. "Since you brought him back here, Thor you know we have no choice but to lock him up. At least until we know he won't go on a murderous rampage again."

"You dare! You dare think you can lock up an Asgardian Prince!" Shouted Thor, already spinning Mjolnir, when Loki put a hand on his shoulder.

"It is alright Brother," whispered Loki in Thor's ear. "It will not be a permanent arrangement."

Thor looked into Loki's green eyes and nodded. Loki could have easily lied and gotten them out of this mess, however he doubted that the Avengers would listen to him. Even if they would Loki saw no advantage to it. Loki did not care if the peasants trusted him, but it would make things easier if they did, especially if he was doing to be living with them indefinitely, which it appeared he was.

"I will accompany to where you wish to lock me up."

Loki was led by Natasha and Clint by gun point and arrow point into an elevator and up to a higher floor.

"Why should these pathetic Mortals think they can control me? A god! A god who has been alive century's longer, acquired wisdom, and seen things that these peasants couldn't dream of!" Loki's eyes glinted blue, and he shook his head. The tesseract still affected him, altering his thoughts as such. They were after all just thoughts, but he had to work hard to prevent them from turning into action.

The elevator door slid open, and Loki was lead down a winding hallway until he arrived at a cell. A cell very much like the one he had been imprisoned in on the Helicarrier.

"Homey." Loki stated.

"Don't try anything. Like Stark Tower this has also been improved." Clint said roughly pushing him inside. Loki turned and Agent Barton could see his glowing blue eyes. Eyes he knew all too well.

"Yes, and I see there is still no chair." Loki said with an eyebrow raised, his eyes back to green.

"Hmph." Natasha let out a puff or air in anger and the two of them walked out of the room, leaving Loki alone once again. Alone with only his thoughts for company.

**((If you could write a review that would be lovely. Also I am probably not going to be able to update for two weeks. Sorry))**


	3. Chapter 3

_Flashback to when Loki was with The Other after "Thor" but before "Avengers"_

"Ahhhh!" Loki screamed, as he felt the dark magic run through his veins, his arms automatically pulling at the chains that restrained him. Loki did not know what kind of magic The Other was using on him, but it was certainly something he had never felt before. Magic was Loki's ally, and he knew that he could withstand any amount of magical torture The Other subjected him to, what he did not know was how it would take The Other to figure this out.

Loki had been in a dark place ever since he had fallen from the Bifrost. He had been lost, not knowing whether he was dead or alive, with his thoughts driving him to the point of insanity. When Loki first saw The Other, his altered mind did not know what to think. Loki's greatest weapon, his mind, had been broken, and as a result he was easily convinced to go with The Other. Upon his arrival to this new world The Other had brought him to Loki had been chained up and forced to endure a horrendous amount of pain.

Amidst the pain, Loki could hear whispers and craning his neck he could see The Other talking to some someone with purple skin, who was obviously in charge. He could just make out the phrase "weak enough so he can be controlled" and the words "frost giant," and "fire." Before Loki's fragmented mind could make sense of this, he was unchained and moved.

Loki's eyes fluttered shut. He had never been moved before and his body had become accustomed to being stationary. Each step he took, send pain searing through his entire body, when he noticed the temperature around him was steadily increasing. Forcing his eyes open, he saw a mountain of fire ahead of him, when suddenly he was tossed in it. Fire surrounded him, burning him; it was all he could see.

"Ha ha ha ha." Loki heard a slow laugh. "The fire won't kill you, it would not even hurt a true Asgardian, but that is not what you are, is it, Frost Giant?" The Other hissed.

Loki had lost track of the time he had spent in the ball of fire. Months, years, decades even, it was all blended together. Until one day, the fire stopped burning, and a blue light replaced the flames. Loki was so weak; he knew he had no defences against whatever The Other would do to him next.

Loki could hear footsteps approaching him, and then something pricked at his the middle chest. Its power proceed to move through his soul taking over him.

Loki opened his now blue eyes.

* * *

**((Hi, sorry for the wait, the next chapter won't take as long, I promise. If you could write a review that would be awesome, it really makes my day. Thanks for reading.))**


	4. Chapter 4

**((Hi, so I am going to be drawing on some aspects from the animated movie "Thor: Tales of Asgard." You should watch it, it is a good movie, but if you don't want to or cannot here is all you need to know: Long before "Thor" and "Avengers" the Dark Elf race on the realm Svartálfar was almost entirely killed by the Frost Giants. Odin did not try to help them because he knew the battle could not be won, and many Asgardian's would die in the fight.))**

* * *

"You should not have locked up Loki." Thor glowered. "Imprisoning him will cause more trouble then it will solve."

"You should not have brought him back here. What did you expect that we would welcome him with open arms?" Fury asked crossing his arms, taking a step towards Thor, as the other avengers assembled in the room.

"So Thor," Bruce said stepping between them, in an attempt to dissolve the tension, "Would I be correct in assuming that you have returned to take a closer look at that alien technology we have come across? Tony and I have examined it extensively since you left and we cannot come up with anything."

Thor shot Fury one more glare before replying to Bruce, "Yes, that is one of the reasons I have returned. I did not have enough time to examine it before the Chitauri attacked."

"Well here it is," Tony said placing the object on the table, "You do not really look like the studious type to me, but who knows."

Thor picked up the object. It was a black box, large enough that it had to be carried in two hands. Thor examined it closely. He could make out no more than he could the previous time he examined it. The box had writing on it, Thor knew that it was Dark Elvish written, but he could not read it. It was magical; Thor knew that much, but as much as he hated to admit it, Tony was right. Loki had always been the studious one, not Thor. This was why Thor had wanted Loki to come with him. Thor had known about the mysterious box, and that it was potentially harmful to the realm of Midgard. He also knew that only one man could figure out what it was, Loki.

"Alas, I know nothing more than I did after my first viewing, but that is why Loki came."

"Loki, agreed to come back and help us?" Steve asked with an eyebrow raised. "And even if he does, how do we know that we can trust him?"

"Not exactly, but my Brother will help you." Thor replied, ignoring the last question.

"Let's call it a day." Natasha stated. "You can take another look at it again tomorrow. We have had it for this long, there is no rush."

* * *

**((As always, thanks for reading. Let me know what you think, like or dislike, why not write a review. Sorry this one is a bit short, but I do have the next few all typed and ready to go. I will post again soon, the more feedback I get the sooner I will post:) ))**


	5. Chapter 5

The days passed. Loki remained locked in his cage, and Thor, Tony, and Bruce, kept trying to solve the puzzle of the mysterious black box, with no avail.

"This is foolish!" Thor expressed one day. "We are no closer to figuring this out, and I am certain Loki would know in a second."

"Maybe he is right." Bruce looked at Tony. "We are no closer."

"Ya, I guess you are right. As long as you can control him Thor let's get him up here." Tony sighed. "But you had better get permission from the Director, he likes to have everything under his thumb." "Even though it's my building." He muttered as an after shot.

"Hand cuff him and put the gag back on him, then bring him up." Fury radioed to guards watching Loki in his cell. The avengers all gathered in the lab, Barton and Romanov, had their hands placed on their weapons when the door opened with a click.

Loki strolled in gag less, and handcuff less with a smirk on his face.

The two spies immediately had their weapons out pointed at Loki, while Thor rushed forward to embrace his Brother.

"Why is he not confined?" Fury glared at the guards who brought him up.

"He…uh…convinced us he did not need them."

Loki snickered and muttered "Silvertongue." It was humorous to him how much the mortals feared him. He could understand why they did, but really when he had the scepter, the majority of the people he had 'killed' had died when the tesseract shock wave caused the building to implode.

"Don't worry, if I wanted to hurt you I already would have." Loki shrugged off Thor's embrace. "Now why have you summoned here? I am assuming that it is not because you have suddenly decided to trust me."

"We need you to tell us everything you know about this artifact; Thor told us it was from Dark Elves or something." Tony said, gesturing to the object while taking a swig from an opaque bottle.

Loki glanced over at the object and immediately paled, wondering if it had anything to do with The Other. The object was indeed from the realm Svartálfar, but that meant little. "How long have you had this here?"

"A few months. Do you know what it is? Can you read those runes?"

Loki stepped closer to the object; it was indeed what he suspected. Loki straightened and turned to face the group before he spoke. "It is a sort of tracking device, and no, I cannot read the runes. No one can. No one who is not an elf."

"Well why is it here, and what is it tracking?" Natasha asked crossing her arms.

"That it what the runes would communicate." Loki raised his eye brows.

"Then you are of no further use to us. Thor, you should take him back to Asgard." Fury turned to the lightening god.

"Use to you?!" Uttered Loki, blue creeping into his eyes. "You think I am some servant you can command to do as you will! I am a god, mortal!"

Loki forced himself to turn away from the group, ignoring his brother's words, and the weapons pointed towards him. He leaned heavily on the wall, breathing hard forcing the corrupt power out of his body. He had never lost control like this before. Taking a deep breath, he turned once more to face the group. "While I cannot read the runes, I can determine their intention. However it will take some time, and a lot of magic."

"Take whatever time you need." Fury said his eye hardening. "Know that we are going to lock in the lab while you work."

The group slowly began to file out of the lab, not quite sure of what they had just seen. Thor lingered behind.

"Brother, what was that about?" He asked caringly.

"As if you ever cared before." Loki shot him a glance then turned back toward the black object.

* * *

**((As always thank you for reading, and thank you to those who left a review, they do mean a ton to me, more than you know.))**


	6. Chapter 6

_Flashback to Loki's trial on Asgard_

Loki sat in his room awaiting his judgement. Odin had placed some sort of magic on Loki's quarters so he could not escape them. Loki would get a private trial, being a Prince did have some benefits, he supposed, although it was not as though the other citizens would not find out. Loki knew that death was not out of the question for his crimes, but that would not be the worst thing to happen to Loki. If only he could explain, and tell the truth about what had happened. Odin would not come to visit him, he knew that much. Even if he did, Loki knew the only feeling Odin felt toward him was disappointment. The words "No, Loki," played in his mind. Loki's only chance was Thor.

At that moment Loki's door opened with a click, and in walked Thor. "Loki, you have been summoned for your trial."

Loki rushed up to him. "Brother you have to listen to me. I did not do what you think I did."

Loki's green eyes met Thor's blue eyes, and he could see anger in them, however under the anger Loki could something else. Hurt? Betrayal? Sadness? Pity?

Thor ignored him. "You have to wear the gag again. The Allfather does not want you to corrupt anyone with your lies."

At that moment Loki knew he had lost the trial. He would have to endure whatever the punishment the Allfather would dish out. Loki did not want to die, but he still knew that there were things worse than death.

Loki was led down the golden corridors, past Valhalla, past the places where Thor and his friends used to play as children. Loki remembered how he would only join them when Thor encouraged him to. Thor always saw the good in people. Perhaps that was why he did not see how his friends acted towards Loki. Perhaps that was what caused him to love Loki no matter what, well until now. Loki tried to open his mouth to make a remark to his brother, only to be reminded of the silver gag still placed upon it. Loki eyebrows arched inwards, as he was forced to remain silent.

They arrived in a large hall, and Loki was placed in the middle in front of Odin. Loki supposed it was ironic that this had been the same hall where Thor going to be made king. At that time, although he was alone he still had knowledge that loved him. Ah, ignorance was bliss. Now, he was truly alone. No father, no brother and he could not bring himself to look his mother in the eyes. Why? Why couldn't he have been stronger? Thor would have been able to resist the blue power of the tesseract.

"Loki," Odin's voice interrupted his thoughts, "you have to wear the gag for the duration of this meeting, god of lies."

Loki looked up at him. Odin had known that if Loki had been able to speak to defend himself, he would have been able to get himself out of any verdict, playing them all like a fiddle. What Odin did not know is that Loki would not have lied. Thor was standing to Odin's right and Frigga to his left. She looked as though she had been crying, but still Loki did not look into her eyes. Instead he looked towards Thor, who had his eyes downcast.

"Because of the circumstances, you are forbidden to speak." Odin continued. "And I have taken this into account. As such your punishment would be exile; however, I do not know what you would do to the other realms and as a result you must stay on Asgard, where you will be watched by Heimdall."

Loki stared up at Thor, his eyes filling with tears. This would indeed be worse than death. Stuck on a realm on which everyone hated him. Before when he was alone, he no one bothered him. Now people would talk, and he would have to spend eternity with them. He had no one, no family nothing, and yet he would be here forever. Loki would rather have been exiled to Jotunheim, at least then he could belong, in some sense of the word.

Thor looked down at Loki, he could not have changed the Allfather opinion, but it was Thor who had accounted the tale to the Asgardians. It was Thor who could sway his father's mind. How could his Brother do such a thing to Midgard? Thor wondered. Seeing the tears in his brother's eyes Thor could not believe Loki was upset. Loki was very lucky, he had no punishment. He got to live, and live at home with his family. Thor's blue eyes met the tricksters green eyes. And it dawned on Thor, had Loki's eyes not been blue on Midgard? Guilt flooded in, maybe his brother had been telling the truth, maybe all was not as it seemed. It was too late to change anyone's mind, the guilty had been sentenced, and besides what evidence did he have? Thor knew that he had to try to make it to his brother. He had failed him.

* * *

**((Wow! Thanks for all the feedback guys:) I really appreciate the reviews, and thank you for reading.))**


	7. Chapter 7

"Do you think we can trust him? Even if he does find out what the runes mean?" Agent Romanov asked. She, Steve, Tony, and Bruce had assembled just outside the lab.

"I'm not sure." Steve replied, running a hand through his blond hair. "He does seem more docile, but what was up with him in there? Thor didn't know, and said Loki is not speaking about it."

"I think we can trust Loki. And that artifact seems to be pretty serious too." Bruce interjected. "Did you notice how pale he got when he first saw it?"

"I'm gunna agree with Banner. If he tells us anything about it, it is probably true, or else why would he tell us. Besides Thor trusts him." Tony said taking another drink from his bottle.

Natasha sighed. "Tony, I though you said you were going to cut back on the drinking."

"I am it is just water!" Tony defended truthfully.

Natasha grabbed it from him and took a swig. "That is wine."

"What?! Jesus did it again!" He exclaimed.

"Hahaha," muffled laughter came from within the lab. The god of mischief smiled, his eyes glinting.

"I don't think that was Jesus."

* * *

**((I know it's short, sorry. I will post the next one tomorrow. And as to how often I am going to be updating; I am going to try for every other day or every third day, for the time being, but please don't hold me to that. If it is a short chapter, or if I get a lot of feedback;) I will try to post sooner. I will answer any questions you guys have about the story, unless I think it will become evident further along. As always, thank you for reading, as well as for writing the lovely review. You guys are amazing.))**


	8. Chapter 8

"Loki! Have you come any closer to solving the puzzle of the Dark Elvish artifact?" Thor burst into the lab, only to see Loki lounging in a chair playing with a small green snake intertwined around his arm.

"Oh yes," Loki stood, snapping his fingers and the snake disappeared. "Quite some time ago actually."

"And you didn't think to tell us! Loki, what are you thinking? This could be dangerous."

"Yes, it is dangerous, not so, however to Midgard, so I saw no rush, plus you did not ask." Loki said with a playful smirk.

"Well we are asking now. Why is it here? And who is it a danger too? What is it tracking?" The Director walked into the room, his arms crossed.

Loki sighed. Fury was always around. At first he found it amusing how much he and his team seemed to fear, and hate Loki. Then he felt pity and guilt towards them, but as of late they were mostly just an annoyance.

Loki spoke, ignoring Nick Fury's questions. "At first I thought it was an old artifact, from long ago when the Dark Elves were still a prominent race, left behind on Midgard from some misguided adventure. I could not read the engraved runes. But using an immense amount of magic I figured out much."

Thor surveyed Loki while he spoke, as he often found himself doing, out of the care and guilt he felt for his brother. It had indeed taken a lot of magic to procure the information the black artifact contained via magic. He had not noticed at first, but Loki looked drained, as if he had not slept in days. Loki was now leaning on the chain in a way that would look inconspicuous to all except one's brother. Loki was exhausted, and Thor did not know why he had put so much into trying to protect a realm who had recently tried to kill him.

"So what is it looking for?" Thor questioned.

Loki paused before he answered, taking a deep breathe to steady himself. It was true; the magic he had used had physically and mentally fatigued him. The reason he had done so did not have as much to do with the fact that he was curious, or that it involved him and Thor, as it did that it could potentially harm Midgard. As much as he would never admit it, Loki felt guilt for what he had done. But more than that he still felt he had to prove himself. And now it was not just to Odin, but to Thor as well. Even though Thor acted nice enough to his brother, Loki would often catch those cautious blue eyes surveying him, waiting for him to turn rabid, and Loki knew that things could never be the way they were before.

"It is not what it is tracking, but who." Came Loki's long awaited reply. "The Dark Elves, are trying to locate Thor and I. And I suspect they already have."

* * *

**((Thanks for reading and reviewing.))**


	9. Author's Note

**Hey guys, **

**Sorry I have not updated, I promise I will finish the story eventually. I have just been really busy, working three jobs and training/competing on a competitive sports team. I will try to put up another chapter when I get a day off but do not hold your breath (sorry). Once summer is over I will be able to post more, and I should be able to have a regular updating schedule.**

**Sorry again about the unexplained hiatus, and thanks to you that have stuck around.**


End file.
